


Colds from the Pond

by sarahgirl1998



Series: HTF sneezefics [50]
Category: Happy Tree Friends
Genre: Comedy, Gen, Humor, Lumpy from Happy Tree Friends Sneezes, Male Sneezing, Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sick Character, Sickfic, Sneezing, Sneezing from Being Sick, Sneezing from a Cold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:54:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22777477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahgirl1998/pseuds/sarahgirl1998
Summary: Lumpy deals with the horrible cold he caught from swimming in the pond, as do Lifty and Shifty. It's really the faults of those alligators, sea lions and octopuses they got sick. For God's sake, they had pepper and feathers in the water...Direct sequel to Water You Wading For. Be careful, it might be a little sad.
Series: HTF sneezefics [50]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/646829
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

“G-guys?” Lumpy asked his friends, who were still playing in the pond. “I, I don’t feel so good...”

Sniffles stopped playing when he heard his words. He stepped out of the pond and looked over at Lumpy.

“You’re not...?” Sniffles asked sadly.

Lumpy shook his head, and then sneezed again. It wasn’t massive, but it did cause some mucus to explode out of his nose.

“Aaaaah-CHOOOOOO!!”

Sniffles winced when he heard the sneeze, then looked at him in concern as Lumpy rubbed his nose with his forefinger.

“Gesundheit, Lumpy...” said Sniffles. “Do you need a tissue?”

Lumpy nodded, still rubbing his nose. But when Sniffles reached into his pockets, he couldn’t find any tissues or handkerchiefs.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t bring any with me,” said Sniffles apologetically. “I think it’s because we were going swimming.”

Lumpy coughed loudly into his hand again, and then groaned. Sniffles bent over a bit to take his hand and help him stand back up.

“Uugh... my throat hurts, my head hurts, and my nose is so snotty and itchy...” Lumpy sniffled.

Sniffles reached up to place his hand on his forehead. It felt really hot, to the point that he had to take his hand away.

“Yep. You’ve definitely got a fever, Lumpy,” Sniffles stated. “I’ll just take you to my house and take care of you.”

“Oh, Sniffles, would you do that? Haaah-tchoo!” Lumpy sneezed again, then rubbed his nose with his forefinger again.

“Don’t worry about a thing, Lumpy. And bless you,” Sniffles replied.

Wrapping one hand around Lumpy’s shoulder, Sniffles began to walk him home. Along the way, they passed Lifty and Shifty; not only were they still feeling sick, they were also hallucinating a bit.

“It’s a stone, bro. You didn’t make it... Aaaah-choo!” Shifty sneezed into both of his hands, then rubbed his nose with his arm.

“I’ll take the white one, and that blue and green-eyed one... Haaaah-chuuu!!” Lifty sneezed as well, shooting his neck forwards as he did so. He then sniffled as he rubbed his nose with his forefinger. “...And can I pay with soda?”

“Hmm, you guys don’t sound well, either,” Sniffles stated. “How about I take care of both of you and Lumpy at the same time?“

Lifty and Shifty didn’t respond.

“Guys?” Sniffles asked.

“I heard you, Princess.” Lifty coughed a few times, then groaned a bit. “Ugh, anyone here got a water?”

Sniffles bent down and helped the raccoons to their feet, while Lumpy stayed where he was and sniffled loudly.

“Ugh, thanks.” Shifty said to Sniffles, before he needed to sneeze again. “Huuuh... Tchooo!!” Another sniffle, followed by him rubbing his nose with his fist.

Lumpy placed his hands on Lifty and Shifty’s foreheads, but they were burning up.

“I think we should get them to a doctor, Sniffles...” Lumpy stated. “Besides, my colds don’t make me say weird things...”

“I’ll protect you, Figaro-chan,” said Lifty with a sniffle.

“Who?” Lumpy raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll bring them home, and then I’ll meet you at my house so I can take care of you,” said Sniffles. Lumpy nodded in understanding.

Cuddles and Flaky were still playing in the pond and watching all of this happen.

“Huh. I could have sworn the pond was totally safe now...” said Cuddles.

“That’s weird,” Flaky agreed. “I wonder why they’re getting...”

“HAAAAAAHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” Cuddles released yet another massive sneeze, which somehow went completely ignored by everyone but Flaky. His nose turned red and he sulked in dismay. “Aw, not again!”

He sniffled and rubbed his nose with his forefinger, while Flaky looked at him in sympathy.

“Awww. Do you need some tickles to make you feel better?”

“No. Do YOU need some tickles to make YOU feel better?” Cuddles replied, almost sarcastically.

“Oh, sorry. I meant tissues.” Having realized her mistake, Flaky stepped out of the pond, as did Cuddles. Because Cuddles had caught another cold, and Flaky might have been on the brink of catching one as well.

Sniffles began to walk the raccoons to their apartment, listening to their coughing, sneezing and occasional non-sequiturs, but paying little heed. Finally he made it to their room and tucked them into bed.

“I hope you guys feel better soon,” said Sniffles. “I am so sorry this had to happen to you...”

“Aaah-haaaah... Choooo!!” Lifty sneezed into both of his hands - it looked surprisingly adorable - and then rubbed his nose.

“It’s alright, I knew something bad was gonna happen after, uh... you know what happened.”

Sniffles then left the apartment and headed off to his own house. By the time he’d gotten there, Lumpy sitting on the couch, sniffling with a box of tissues in his hands and waiting for him.

“Do you need me to make you some tea, Lumpy? Or some soup?” Sniffles asked.

Lumpy just coughed. “No, I just need some tissues. But thanks...”

“Aaaah, haaaaaaah...” Lumpy inhaled once again, the strong tickle having returned to his nose. He pulled out a tissue and exploded massively into it, causing Sniffles to wince. “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH-TTTTTTSSSSSSHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

“Eeeek!!!” Sniffles screamed in surprise. “Oh, my!!” As Lumpy rubbed his nose with his forefinger, Sniffles told him, “Gesundheit!!!”

“Thank you...” Lumpy replied. He blew his nose loudly into his tissue, and then wiped his nose with it, holding it with both hands.

“On second thought, I’ll make you some soup AND some tea,” said Sniffles. “I hope they’ll at least relieve your massive sneezes...”

“I hope so, too,” Lumpy agreed as he lay down on the couch, holding his tissues where he could reach them.

“In the meantime...” Sniffles took a large blanket and covered Lumpy’s body with it. “You need to get some rest. No matter how severe a cold may be, it’ll get better as long as you rest.”

Lumpy nodded in understanding as he sniffled. Sniffles then headed into the kitchen to prepare his remedies for Lumpy, leaving Lumpy alone on the couch.

At least he wasn’t hallucinating like Lifty and Shifty were right now... It must have been because the cold affected them differently from how it affected him. Yeah, that was probably the case. But Lumpy was hoping they would feel better, too, if not as quickly as he would feel better.


	2. Chapter 2

“God, help me...” Shifty groaned as he held his forehead with one hand, his stomach with the other. “This is the worst... Haah-chuu!!” He sniffled loudly and rubbed his nose with his forefinger.

“You’re telling me. Aaah... Aaaah-choo!!” Lifty sneezed as well, and rubbed his nose the same way Shifty did.

Lifty and Shifty had made almost full recoveries from their hallucinations brought on by the cold they’d caught from the pond. The cold itself, however, clearly wasn’t getting any better. Now they were having the same symptoms Lumpy was having: sore throat, headache, stomach pains and constant sneezing - not to mention the fact that their red noses alternated between being runny and stuffy. Those last two things were exactly why Lifty and Shifty wished they hadn’t gone to the pond that day.

“Uughh...” Lifty sniffled loudly, then rubbed his nose a few times with the back of his hand. “Hey, bro, is it possible to get your sinuses removed?”

“No, but I hope you’re not really saying that.” Shifty sniffled as well.

“I’m really saying that.” Lifty had just enough time to confess that he, indeed, hadn’t been joking about that question, before he needed to sneeze again. “Huuh... Haaaah... Aaaaah-TCHOOOOOOO!!!”

Lifty shot his neck forwards as he released the sneeze, with a good amount of saliva being released from his mouth. He then sniffled as he rubbed his nose with his forefinger.

“Gesundheit,” said Shifty.

“Thanks...” Lifty replied.

He grabbed a tissue from a nearby box and wiped his nose, still sniffling here and there. Shifty watched him do so, sometimes coughing into his fist. After a few seconds, he lay back down in the bed.

“Ugh, I haven’t felt this bad in ages...” Shifty commented. He held his tummy, feeling a bit of discomfort. “Well, except for when we had the Raccoon Sniffles.”

“Yeah.” Lifty sniffled. “Except this cold is way worse than that...” He coughed, too, then sniffled again.

Shifty lowered the covers from his body and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m gonna make us some soup or something.”

Just as he stepped out of bed, however, he needed to sneeze again. He didn’t want to, but didn’t have a choice, so he went ahead.

“Aaah, haaah... Aaaaah-- Tchu!!!”

Shifty threw his hand over his mouth when he released the sneeze. It was only after that could he make his way out of the bedroom. Lifty could see him rubbing his nose with his hand - or was he using his forefinger?

“Please, don’t tickle me...” Lifty muttered, on the verge of another hallucination. His non-sequitur made sense, though; Cuddles and Flaky did mention tickling when they were telling the story of how they got back against the creatures of the pond. The pond that Lumpy, Lifty and Shifty really, REALLY shouldn’t have went into...

Lumpy was still laying on the couch, his box of tissues in his hands. He coughed loudly, and sniffled loudly. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this uncomfortable; and given the large number of colds he’d had, that was saying a lot.

“Lumpy?” Sniffles moved back into the living room. “Your soup and tea aren’t ready yet. Are you feeling any better?”

“N-ndo...” Lumpy replied, before he sneezed again. “Aaaaah-TCHOOOOOOOO!!!” He immediately pulled out a tissue and blew his nose loudly.

“Gesundheit,” said Sniffles.

“Thank you...” Lumpy replied as he wiped his nose.

Sniffles briefly left the room for a moment, then came back with a thermometer. Knowing what it was Sniffles wanted to do, Lumpy opened his mouth, and Sniffles tucked the end of the thermometer underneath his tongue before he closed his mouth.

While they were waiting for his temperature to be taken, Sniffles placed his hand on Lumpy’s chest. His heartbeat was normal, but a little slow. Sniffles removed his hand and looked at Lumpy’s eyes; they were leaking a bit, but this was probably due to his cold rather than sadness or allergies. Lumpy sniffled once, then wiped his nose again with his tissue.

Finally, Sniffles removed the thermometer from Lumpy’s mouth. When he looked at it, however, he gasped.

“Oh, my goodness!” said Sniffles. “A hundred and six! You’ve got a terrible fever, Lumpy!”

“I knew that...” Lumpy said with a cough. “My head did feel hot when I touched it earlier today.” Then he sneezed again, quieter this time. “Haaah-chew!” Almost looking embarrassed, Lumpy rubbed his nose tenderly with his forefinger.

“Bless you,” said Sniffles. “How would you like me to make you a fever-reducing potion? It might not have any other benefits, though.”

Lumpy sniffled. “Yes, please...”

Sniffles headed down to his lab for a few minutes, and Lumpy stayed on the couch. He pulled out a tissue and blew his nose loudly, but quickly stopped to enter a coughing fit. Only when that was finished was he able to wipe his nose. Soon, however, Sniffles came back to the living room with a potion.

“It might take a few hours for this to work,” said Sniffles. He handed the potion to Lumpy. “But trust me, it will work.”

“Gee, I hope so.”

With a sniffle, Lumpy removed the lid from the bottle and began to drink the potion down. He didn’t realize that Sniffles had left the room to go into the kitchen for something. After almost ten seconds had gone by, Lumpy was done with the potion, but now he had an odd taste in his mouth.

“Ugh, that tasted weird,” said Lumpy.

“I was sure it would, Lumpy,” said Sniffles as he came back into the living room, “but you’ll be happy to know that your tea is ready.” He showed Lumpy a steaming mug of warm tea.

Lumpy gave a little smile and accepted the mug, handing him the now-empty bottle of potion in return. “Thank you, Sniffles.”

For the first time in a couple of hours, Lumpy sat up on the couch. He took a good sip of the tea, then swallowed and sighed. The tea tasted far better than the potion. He could feel the pain in his throat weakening, as well as his nasal passages clearing. Within a few more sips, he began to feel like his cold was going away.

“That feels so much better,” said Lumpy. He handed the mug back to Sniffles now that he was done with his tea. “Thank you, Sniffles.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” said Sniffles. “You do sound better, don’t you? Maybe I should make some more of that tea for Lifty and Shifty.”

“That sounds like a good idea. Aaah-tchoo!” Lumpy sneezed again, doubling over as he did so. With a sheepish smile, he placed his forefinger underneath his nose and pulled a tissue out of his box. “Excuse me.”

“Bless you, Lumpy,” Sniffles said as Lumpy wiped his nose. “I’m gonna bring you your soup, and then I’ll leave to visit Lifty and Shifty. I’ll be back by sundown, though.”

Lumpy nodded in understanding as he continued to wipe his nose. Sniffles walked back into the kitchen for a moment, then came back with a steaming bowl of soup on a tray.

“When you’re done with this, Lumpy, just place it on the coffee table so I can bring it to the kitchen for you,” Sniffles told him.

Lumpy nodded and began to eat, occasionally sniffling as he did so. In the meantime, Sniffles took the box of the brand of tea he’d made for Lumpy and headed out of his house.

In the meantime, Lifty and Shifty were in the midst of a sneezing fit.

“Aaah-choooo!! Haaaah-choooo!! Ah-haaaaaah-shuuuuu!!!” Lifty was covering his mouth with both hands, Shifty with a tissue. Following the fit, Shifty wiped his nose, while Lifty rubbed his nose with his forefinger.

“Ughh...” Shifty blew his nose for one second, then kept wiping. He hadn’t found anything to eat - the raccoons didn’t have any soup or medicine at the time - so he decided to just go back to bed and keep resting. “If this is how bad this cold is on day one, the next six days are gonna be pure torture.”

“Oh, I bet.” Lifty coughed a few times into his hand, then sniffled. “We could sure use some TLC right about now...”

Just then, they heard a few knocks on their front door. Lifty got out of bed to answer it, but not without feeling another sneeze coming on. He tried to hold it in for a few seconds, but it forced its way out.

“HaaaaAAAAAHHHHHH-- SHEEEEEWWWWWW!!!”

The loud sneeze must have been enough to make his visitor cringe. Lifty opened the door, rubbing his nose with his forefinger.

“Can I help you?” Just after he asked that, he realized who it was. “Sniffles?!”

“Hey, Lifty. Gesundheit,” said Sniffles.

“Thanks.” Lifty was still rubbing his nose.

“How are you and your brother feeling?” Sniffles asked as he came into the apartment.

“Well, we’re still sick, there’s that...” Lifty coughed a few more times.

“I figured you would be,” Sniffles replied. “So I decided to do you guys a little favor that’ll help you feel better.”

“Cool.” Lifty sniffled, bringing his hand up to wipe his nose. “Ugh, I gotta get back to bed.”

“Suit yourself, Lifty. You need your rest.”

Sniffles made his way into the kitchen to prepare some tea for the ill raccoons. Meanwhile, Lifty returned to the bedroom and crawled back into bed with Shifty.

“Who was that?” Shifty wanted to know.

“It’s Sniffles. He’s gonna do something for us so we won’t be so miserable,” Lifty replied.

“Really? Thank God,” Shifty commented. He then inhaled and sneezed again. “Aaaaaahhhh-TCHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!”

“Gesundheit!” Sniffles called from the kitchen.

“Thank you!” Shifty replied as he rubbed his nose with his forefinger.

After a few minutes, Sniffles’ tea was finally finished. He poured it into a couple of mugs and then brought them into the bedroom.

“Aah, haaah... Haaaah-cheww!!” Lifty sneezed again, then rubbed his nose with his forefinger.

“Bless you,” said Sniffles.

“Yeah. What he said,” Shifty replied with a sniffle.

“I made this tea for you guys,” Sniffles went on. “I‘m hoping it helps you recover from your cold. Not to mention, when I served it to Lumpy, he started feeling better pretty fast.”

“Yeah, but that’s Lumpy,” said Shifty.

“How fast could this work on us?” Lifty wanted to know as he and Shifty each accepted a mug of tea.

They began to drink it - and almost to their surprise, they did start to feel better. The pain in their throats weakened, and their nasal passages began to clear up. When they were finished, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

“You know, I’m actually feeling a whole lot better,” said Shifty.

“Yeah, me too,” Lifty agreed.

“Thanks, Sniffles!” said Lifty and Shifty in unison.

“No problem, guys.” Sniffles smiled at them as he took their mugs. “Get some rest, now. I’ll check up on you in the morning.”

With that, he walked out of the bedroom, switching the light off with his tail. With that, Shifty took off his fedora and placed it on the bedpost closest to him. Within five minutes, he and Lifty had drifted off to sleep.

Sniffles placed the mugs in the dishwasher and started it up, and then he walked out of the apartment. As he watched the sun set into the mountains beyond, he felt a light tickle in his trunk. Since nobody was around to hear it, Sniffles went ahead and released doubling over as he did so.

“Heh... Haaah-tchyuu!” He then sniffled and rubbed underneath his trunk with his forefinger. “I guess I didn’t realize how chilly it gets on these summer nights.”

He continued on his way home, and by the time he’d gotten there, the sky was now a dark blue and filled with stars. When he opened the door and went into the living room, Lumpy had fallen asleep. Sniffles smiled, picked up the tray and brought it into the kitchen.

After he’d had his dinner and done the dishes, it was time for Sniffles to go to bed. He climbed up the stairs, headed into his bedroom and crawled into his bed. He made himself comfortable, took off his glasses and put them on the end table next to him. Then he switched off the light and went to sleep. From that point onward, he could hear the crickets chirping outside.

Even if Lumpy, Lifty and Shifty would still have their colds tomorrow, Sniffles was sure he could help them recover as soon as he could. Besides, they were his friends.


End file.
